CTA junks BPO firm’s P17-M VAT refund claim

The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has denied local business process outsourcing (BPO) arm of American firm Wells Fargo Enterprise Global Services Inc. petition for review for lack of merit. The firm is seeking a refund of PHP17.24 million in unutilized input value-added taxes (VAT) it paid in 2014.
Associate Justice Maria Rowena Modesto-San Pedro of the CTA’s Third Division, in a decision dated Oct. 26 and released Thursday, said the firm may instead claim a refund from its supplier of goods, properties, and services that charged input VAT in its purchases.
The court explained that as an entity registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), the petitioner’s local purchases of goods, properties, and services destined for consumption within the PEZA ecozone are subject to zero percent VAT.